Improvement in plows



J. BANK.

Shovel-Plow.

Patnted Dec. 1, 1857.

bars of the foot.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEmE.

JOSEPH BANKS, OF DADEVILLE, ALABAMA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,726, dated December1, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BANKS, of Dudeville, in the county ofTallapoosa and State of Alabama, haveinveuted a new and ImprovedGraduating and Adjusting Plow; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accom anying drawings,n1aking part of this specification- Figure1 being a side elevation of the plow, and Fig. 2 aplan of the bottomthereof.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in both figures.

The foot G of the plow is composed of bars of iron welded together atthe bottom, but separated-say an inch, or thereabout-thc remainder oftheir length. These side bars pass through separate mortises in the beamA, formed by cutting notches in the sides thereof and covering them withiron straps a a, which are strongly secured to the beam by rivets, eachpassingth rough both straps. These straps give additional strength tothe beam, and extend so as to cover mortises, formed as above described,for the reception of the braces F F, there being two of which attachedby a pivot to the opposite sides of the foot G. By thus employing doublebraces and bars, separated as far as proper compactness will allow, muchgreater strength and firmness are attained, especially as opposed toside strain. Both the foot Gand braces F F are provided with sets ofholes at regular and corresponding distances apart, through which boltss and t respectively pass to secure them to the beam, whereby, eitherseparately or both together, may be adjusted, and thus increase ordiminish the depth of the plow, or vary the angle which the point formswith the beam, to suit all kinds of work.

On the front side of the foot G a shoulder piece or stop, H, is securedby means ofa pivot, 1', passing through an ear projecting from its upperend,as represented in Fig. 1. Thelower end is thus allowed to movecloser to or further from the foot. A bolt, 7, is passed through thelower end and then back between the The lower end of the bolt receives anut, whereby the lower end of the shoulder-stop H is adjusted toward orfrom the foot G.

In order to keep the shoulder-stop in the position to which it isadjusted, a wedge,p, is driven behind it, as shown in Fig. 1. By thisadjustment of the shoulder-stop its surface is brought flush with thesurface of the point L, the upper end of which bears against it; and, asdifferent kinds of points are attached to the plow, often varyingconsiderably in thickness, it is only by such an arrangement that asmooth surtaeewhich is of considerable importancein that part of theplow-is in all cases obtained.

The point orshareL (different forms of which are used for differentpurposes) is secured to the foot Gr by a bolt and nut, h. The eolter Ihas two branches, f g, at the bottom. The rear branch,f, rests in anotch formed in the upper side of the point L toward its upper end,while the fore branch, g, passes down in a notch in the edge of thepoint, and thence bends under and hooks into a depression in the bottomof the point, substantially as represented in the drawings. The shank ofthe colter extends up through a long mortise in the beam, and is heldtherein by wedges mend n, driven into the mortises respectively againstboth edges of the shank. Thus the colter both bears upon the upper sideand lifts against the under side of the point, thereby giving it greatfirmness and steadiness, and holding its wing or opposite edge stronglyto the strain to which it is subjected. The long mortise in the beam andwedges on both edges of the colter-shank allow the eolter to be adjustedto positions to suit all the adjustments and graduations of the foot Gand braces F F.

The handles B B of the plow are adjusted to the desired height bypivoting them on the stretcher-bar I), which is firmly secured to thestandard 0, and attaching their forward ends to an arm, 1), whichprojects forward from the beam, and is provided with a set of holes,ccc.A bolt, D, is passed through the handles and any one of these holes.This mode of adjusting is superior to that of adjusting the rear ends inseveral particulars. Thus, it allows the rear ends to be more rigidlysupported, and also extend farther behind and awayfrom the plow for theconvenience of the plowman.

What I claim as my invention is The arrangement of the double-branchedcolter I so that its rear branch rests on the point or share and itsforward branch supports the under side of said point, in combinationwith the vertical and forward and rear adjustments of the colter in thebeam, substantially in the manner and for the purposes specified.

JOSEPH BANKS.

Witnesses:

J. S. BROWN, R. F. Oseoon.

